Floor-treating apparatus

ABSTRACT

WHEELS SUPPORT A HOUSING FOR MOVEMENT ON A SURFACE TO BE TREATED. A BRUSH ROLLER IS MOUNTED IN THE HOUSING FOR TURNABLY ENGAGING THIS SURFACE. MOUNTING MEANS MOUNTS THE BRUSH ROLLER WITH FREEDOM OF ADJUSTMENT BETWEEN A LOWER AND AN UPPER POSITION WITH REFERENCE TO THE SURFACE. BIASING MEANS PERMANENTLY URGES T HE BRUSH ROLLER TO ONE OF THESE POSITIONS. A CONTROL MEMBER IS RELEASABLY COUPLED WITH OF THE HOUSING AND HAS AN OUTER MANUALLY ENGAGEABLE PORTION AND AN INNER CONTACT PORTION WHICH COOPERATES WITH THE MOUNTING MEANS. THE CONTROL MEMBER IS TURNABLE BETWEEN TWO TERMINAL SETTINGS IN ONE OF WHICH IT MOVES THE BRUSH ROLLER TO THE OTHER OF ITS POSITIONS AGAINST THE OPPOSITION OF THE BIASING MEANS. DETENT MEANS PREVENTS UNINTENTIONAL TURNING MOVEMENT OF THE CONTROL MEMBER BEYOND ITS TERMINAL SETTINGS NAD PRECLUDES AXIAL-SHIFTING OF THE CONTROL MEMBER.

NOV 30, 1971 G. LEIFHEIT ETAL 3,623,176

FLOORTREATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. l2, 1960 2 Shoots-Sheet 1.v

AWE/vra? NOV 3Q 1971 G. LEIFHEIT ETAL 3,623,175

. FLOOR-TREATING APPARATUS l Filed DEC. l2, 1969 n 2 ShGBtS-ShBSt lnited States Patent 3,623,176 FLOOR-TREATING APPARATUS Gunter Leifheitand Johannes Liebscher, Nassau (Lahn), Germany, assignors to LeifheitInternational Gunter Leifheit KG., Nassau (Lahn), Germany Filed Dec. 12,1969, Ser. No. 884,623 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 14,1968, P 18 14 730.3 Int. Cl. A471 11/32 U.S. Cl. 15-42 34 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Wheels support a housing for movement on asurface to be treated. A brush roller is mounted in the housing forturnably engaging this surface. Mounting means mounts the brush rollerwith freedom of adjustment between a lower and an upper position withreference to the surface. Biasing means permanently urges the brushroller to one of these positions. A control member is releasably coupledwith the housing and has an outer manually engageable portion and aninner contact portion which cooperates with the mounting means. Thecontrol member is turnable between two terminal settings in one of whichit moves the brush roller to the other of its positions against theopposition of the biasing means. Detent means prevents unintentionalturning movement of the control member beyond its terminal settings andprecludes axial shifting of the control member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally toHoor-treating apparatus, and more particularly to floor-treatingapparatus used for sweeping of rugs, carpets and the like.

Floor-treating apparatus, and particularly carpet sweepers utilizingbrush rollers, are already known to be provided with means for adjustingthe position of the brush between upper and lower positions so that thebrush can be moved closer to or farther from the rug or other oorsurface, for instance in dependence upon the height of the nap of therug which is being treated. However, these known apparatuses require fortheir construction, particularly to permit the adjustment of the brushbetween its upper and lower positions, relatively complicatedarrangements, which not only makes them diicult to manufacture andassemble, but which accordingly makes them expensive to produce andexpensive to sell.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved floor-treating apparatus of the typeunder discussion.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide such aHoor-treating apparatus which is simpler to construct, requires lessmaterials for its construction, and is less expensive than those knownfrom the prior art.

In pursuance of the above objects, and those which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a floor-treatingapparatus which comprises, briefly stated, a housing and wheels whichsupport this housing for movement on a surface. A brush roller ismounted in the housing and adapted to turnably engage the surface.Mounting means mounts the brush roller turnably and with freedom ofadjustment between a lower and an upper position with reference to thesurface being treated. Biasing means permanently urges the brush rollerto one of its positions and a control member is releasably coupled withthe housing and has an outer manually engageable portion and an innercontact portion cooperating with the mounting means. The control memberis turnable between two terminal settings in one of which it moves thebrush roller to the other of its positions against the opposition of thebiasing means. Detent means prevents unintentional turning movement ofthe control member beyond the terminal settings thereof, and precludesaxial shifting of the control member.

By utilizing the construction according to the present invention theheretofore necessary separate mounting means for the control memberwhich eiTects adjustment of the brush roller positions, has beeneliminated with a Iconcomitant savings in material, reduction incomplexity of construction, and reduction in the cost of manufacturing,assembling and selling the apparatus.

To simplify the construction of the control member and the housingportion with which the control member is coupled it is advantageous toutilize a disconnectable coupling and, in order to prevent undesiredseparation between them, cooperating projections and recesses providedon the control member and the housing and constituting the coupling areadvantageously of different configuration, that is the variousprojections are different from one another and in correspondencetherewith the mating recesses are also different from one another. It isadvantageous to provide three projections and corresponding recesses ofwhich two of each are of rectangular and one of triangular outline, withthe two rectangular projections and corresponding recessesadvantageously either being of diiferent length and/or of differentWidth. This provides for a quick and reliable assembly of the controlmember to the housing.

Of course, means must be provided for preventing the control member fromturning beyond its two terminal settings. This means is advantageouslyin form of an abutment provided on the control member and an abutmentprovided on the housing so that the control member can be turned onlythrough a region in which the projections of the control member whichserve for coupling the same with the housing, do not come into matingreleasable registration with their corresponding recesses. It is furtheradvantageous to provide the control member with a cam track and toprovide the abutment directly on the cam track, with the abutment ofthe. housing being provided ono a portion of a pivotable linkage whichcooperates with the mounting for the brush roller and effects adjustmentin the position of the mounting and thereby of the brush roller. Thiseliminates the need for a separate abutment. Advantageously, theabutment on the cam track is located intermediate the two opposite endportions of the cam tra-ck so as to permit a complete adjustability ofthe brush roller between its upper and lower positions despite thelimitation imposed on the turning movement of the control member.

The housing can advantageously consist of synthetic plastic material,but may also be made of other material. It has two transversely spacedside walls which extend in at least substantial parallelism with thedirection of movement of the housing over the surface, that is whichextend in direction normal to the axis of rotation of the brush roller,and in accordance with the invention journal supports are provided onthe inner sides of these side walls, with portions of the journalsupports serving to connect the same with the respective side walls.This eliminates the need for separately securing the journal supports tothe side walls, as is the case in known constructions. A particularlysimple and easy to manufacture construction is obtained if the journalsupports are provided with stamped-out or otherwise displaced portionswhich extend at an angle to their general plane and are connected withthe respective side walls. These journal supports may also in part serveto hold mounting members for pivotably mounting a bracket whichstraddles the housing at the exterior thereof and to which a handle suchas a broom handle or the like-can be connected by which the operatoreffects movement of the apparatus over the surface to be treated. Thiscan be accomplished by connecting the journal members-which are locatedat the outer sides of the respective side walls-to the housing via atleast some of the aforementioned stampedout projections. lIt is alsopossible to provide the journal supports and housing side walls withregistering apertures through which connecting portions of the bracketjournal mountings extend to connect the journal mountings tothe housingside walls.

The mounting means for the brush roller comprises a U-shaped bracketwhose lower side faces downwardly, that is towards the surface to betreated. In accordance with the invention portions of the lateral armsof this U-shaped bracket serve for mounting the same and also formounting the brush roller itself, so that separate mounting means forthe brush roller are avoided. This not only results in a significantsaving in material but also in a saving of manufacturing time, both withreference to the production of the brush roller and the elimination ofthe time otherwise needed for providing the separate journallingmembers, as well as with reference to a saving in the time required forassembling the device. Advantageously the arms of the bracket aredirected inwardly towards one another and have a certain limitedelasticity, with the brush roller being mounted on the arms underlutilization of this elasticity. The journal supports may be providedwith upright slots and the bracket mounting the brush roller may -beprovided with projections which are slidably received in these slots sothat the bracket can move between the upper and lower positionsmentioned before. Advantageously, these projections are in form ofdeformed portions of the arms of the bracket whereby separate bolts orother means constituting the projections are eliminated.

The bracket which pivotably straddles the housing and to which thehandle for gripping by an operator is connectable, is substantiallyC-shaped and has arm portions which are pivotably journalled in suitableapertures provided in' the journal supports. Advantageously, theseapertures are 'bounded at least in part by marginal portions whose widthin direction normal to the general plane of the respective aperture isgreater than the thickness of the associated journal support. This canbe accomplished by bending marginal portions bounding the respectiveapertures at a right angle to the general plane thereof, and in thismanner wear of the portions of the arms of the C-shaped brackets whichextend into these apertures and about which the C-shaped bracket pivots,is prevented efven over a very long period of use. In View of the factthat, due to the general construction and to the manner in which thedevice is used by the operator, the pivot portions of the arms of theC-shaped brackets norm-ally abut against the upper edges of therespective apertures, it is advantageous to have the lower edges bestraight and the upper edges' be curved. This simplifies the manufactureand assures that the substantially round-cross-section pivot portionshave as large as possible an area of contact with the marginal portionsbounding the respective apertures.

` AIt is advantageous to construct the journal supports so that theyhave a center portion and two end portions located at opposite sides ofthe center portion, with the end portions being inclined towards thecenter portion and each consisting of a center section, an upper and alower section. The end portions are slightly spaced from the centerportion, springy and connected to the center portion-with which they areof one piece-by a strap section. The end portions are provided withcutouts into which parts of the axles for the Wheels of the apparatusextend. The mounting of the axles can therefore be accomplished in amost simple manner by deflecting opposite end portions of the respectivejournal supports away from one another, inserting the respective axleinto their cut-outs and thereupon letting the end portions assume theirnormal position. The axles are thus retained reliably in their desiredposition and they have been assembled to the device without requiringthe use of tools or any skill. The axles themselves are preferably ofrod-shaped configuration and formed with at least one flattened sectionwhich engages in a corresponding slot on a stationary component of thedevice to thereby prevent the axle itself from turning. This excludeswear and tear on the journalling of the axles themselves and facilitatesquick and simple mounting of the axles in non-rotatable condition. Theflattened portion can be achieved by applying local deformation pressureto a section of the axle. A further advantage is that axles soconstructed may readily be accommodated in storage magazines prior touse.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a simplified perspective view, partly broken away,illustrating the height-adjustment arrangement of the embodiment of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section illustrating a wheel and a portionof the associated axle of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partly sectioned detail View illustrating a portion of theembodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom-plan view of the control member of the embodiment inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the housing portion with which the controlmember in FIG. 6 is to be coupled; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section illustrating a further detail of theembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before entering into a detaileddiscussion of the drawings it is deemed necessary to emphasize that inthe various figures only those elements and portions thereof have beenillustrated which are thought to be essential for an understanding ofthe present invention. For example, the receptacles for sweepings pickedup by the brush roller are shown only diagrammatically, and in FIG. lthe handle which is to be gripped by an operator is shown onlyfragmentarily. These and other omitted elements may be entirelyconventional and may be any of the various well known constructions orconfigurations.

Discussing now the drawing in detail it will be seen that the apparatusillustrated in the drawing comprises a somewhat box-shaped downwardlyopen housing 10 having a lower circumferential edge portion which isprovided With an elastic bumper 11, for instance of rubber, syntheticplastic material or generally elastomeric material so as to preventdamage to articles against which the apparatus may bump when in use.FIG. 2 shows that at the inner sides of two transversely spaced sidewalls of the housing 10 there are provided journal supports 12 which arediscrete members. The journal supports are provided with stamped-out,cut-out or otherwise deformed tongues or projections 13, 14 which extendthrough nonillustrated slots in the associated side walls of the housing10 and are bent over at the outer side of the side walls to therebyconnect the journal supports to the side walls. One of these journalsupports is illustrated in FIG. 3 where the housing is omitted for thesake of clarity, and the projections 13, 14 of the journal support 12shown in FIG. 3 are in their starting position, that is in the positionwhich they assume before the journal support 12 is connected to theassociated side Wall of the housing 10.

FIG. 1 shows that the upper projections 13 may simultaneously serve topenetrate journal members 16 located at the outer side of the side wallsof the housing 10 and serving to pivotably mount a C-shaped bracket 15to which the handle is connected. In this manner, the projections 13serve to mount these journal members on the housing 10.

An alternative possibility is shown in FIG. where the journal members 16are mounted independently of the journal supports 12, being providedwith connecting portions 17 which extend through registering cut-outs 18in the housing and the journal supports 12 and abut connectingly againstthe inner side of the journal supports 12. The members 16 advantageouslybut not necessarily are made of synthetic plastic material and theprojections 17 will then have the necessary elasticity for theirinsertion into the registering cut-outs 18.

The journal supports 12 are provided with guide projections 19 bentinwardly towards one another as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Guided by theseis a bracket 20 of substantially U-shaped configuration which in turnsupports a brush roller 22. The arms 20 of the bracket 20 haveprojections 21 on which the brush roller 22 is turnably mounted. Theseprojections 21 are of one piece with the bracket 20 and preferably taperto a point. Additionally, the projections 21 are outwardly bent oroffset in the region of the transition between the projections 21 andthe associated arms 20', so that the outwardly extending projections 23formed in this manner extend into slot-shaped recesses 24 of the journalsupports 12 without requiring separate elements for this purpose. Thebracket 20v constitutes a unit with the brush roller 22 and is movablebetween an upper and a lower position between the guides 19. Its upperposition is determined by cooperation of the project-ions 23 with therecesses 24.

In the illustrated embodiment a member 25 cooperates with the bracket20. It extends above the bracket 20 and is pivotably mounted with itsends in openings 26 of the respective journal supports 12. As shown inthe drawing, and particularly in FIG. 3 thereof, the edges 27 of theopenings 26 are widened by inwardly bending surrounding edge portions ofthe journal supports 12 in order to provide a wear-free journalling forthe ends of the arms on the C-shaped bracket 25. It is also possible,however, to weld or otherwise secure additional separate portions to thejournal supports 12 in lieu of the inwardly bent marginal portions. Thedrawing also shows that the upper edges bounding the openings 26 arecurved and the lower edges are straight. This not only facilitatescutting and bending of the marginal portions 27, but also takes intovaccount the fact that at least in the illustrated embodiment theportions of the arms of bracket 25 are maintained in contact with themarginal portions 27 in the upper regions of the openings 26.

A control member 28 is turnably received in an opening 29 of the housing10. A lower portion of the control member 28 is located Within thehousing and an upper portion without the housing, with the latter beingengageable manually by an operator so that the control member 28 may beturned about an upright axis to thereby eifect adjustment of the brushroller 22 between its upper and lower positions. To this end a cam track30 is provided on the inner portion of the control member 28 and abutsthe repeatedly off-set member 25. By turning the control member 28 inone direction of rotation the cam track 30 effects pivoting of themember 25 downwardly, with concomitant downward displacement of thecarrier or bracket 20 between the guides 19. Springs 55 permanently biasthe bracket or carrier 20 in upward directlon to its upper position.

The control member 28 is provided with an abutment 37 on the cam track30, located between the terminal settings of the latter so as not todisadvantageously influence the range of adjustability of the bracket20. The arrangement of the abutment 37 with reference to the projections31, 32, 33 of the control member 28 is such that in opposite directionsof rotation of the control member 28 the abutment 37 will engage themember 25 in any position of the latter, before the projections 31, 3233 assume -with reference to their associated recesses a position inwhich the control member 28 could become disengaged from the housing 10.Of course, the projections 31, 32, 33 and the recesses mating with themand provided in the opening 29 of the housing 10 in which the controlmember 28 is turnably located, could al-so be of different configurationand/or be arranged at different angles with reference to one another.While there are three projections and corresponding recesses shown, itis possible to provide only two or more than three if desired.

Wheels 38 are provided on which the apparatus rolls over a surface beingtreated. One pair of these wheels 38 is mounted on one axle 39 and asecond paid on a second axle 39, with both axles 39 extending atopposite sides of the brush roller 22 in parallelism therewith. Theaxles 39, with respect to which the wheels 38 are rotatable` are ofrod-shaped configuration and provided each with at least one attenedportion 40 which serves to prevent rotation of the axles 39 themselves.Springy portions 42 are provided with cut-outs 41 in which opposite endsof the axles 39 are lodged for rotation. These springy portions 42 areprovided by producing slots 43 extending upwardly from the lower edgesof the journal supports 12 and in substantial parallelism with the guideprojections 19. Thus, the springy portions 42 remain connected with thecenter portions 45 of the respective journal supports 12 only by thestraps 44. As mentioned before, the springy portions 42 which constituteend portions located at opposite sides of the respective center portions45 are composed of three sections which are angled with reference to oneanother. The upper section 46 is connected via the strap portion 44 withthe center portion 45, and it is inwardly bent with reference to thesame. The middle portion 47 extends approximately parallel with theplane of the center portion 45 and is provided in the illustratedembodiment with the opening 41. The lower portions 48 are outwardly bentor angled. The lines separating the sections 46, 47 from one another andthose separating the sections 47 and 48 from one another, extend inparallelism with the upper and lower edges of the journal support 12.Outwardly formed depressions 49 are provided in the inwardly directedsides of the lower -sections 48 extending upwardly from their lowerportion to and into the middle sections 47 and to the cut-outs 41. Thisfacilitates the quick and ready insertion of the opposite end portionsof the axles 39 into the cut-outs 41. Because of the outward angling ofthe sections 48 with reference to one another, the spacing between themis larger than the length of the respective axles 39 whereas the spacingbetween the sections 47 of the opposed journal supports 12 is smallerthan the length of the axles 39. Thus, the axles 39 are simply placedbetween the transversely spaced sections 48 and pushed upwardly, therebyoutwardly displacing the sections 47 until the opposite ends of theaxles 39 snap into the cut-outs 41. The recesses 49 serve as guidesduring such movement. Of course, the spacing between the oppositelylocated sections 47 is such that the axles can be removed only bysubsequently bending the sections 47 outwardl-y away from one another.

Receptacles 51 for sweeping picked ofi` the surface by the brush roller22 are located on the axles 39 adjacent the wheels 38 and extending inparallelism with the brush roller 22. These receptacles 51 are soarranged that the wheels 38 are located with almost no freedom of axialmovement between the portions 42 and the not-in-detail illustrated sidewalls of the receptacles 51. The flattened portions 40 are in theillustrated embodiment so arranged that they extend into slots S2provided in the side walls of the receptacles 51 and, because the latterare fixedly secured, the axles 39 cannot turn. Advantageously thereceptacles 51 are secured against movement as illustrated, namely bymounting them on the bracket of the brush roller 22 by means of thesprings 55 which, as pointed out earlier, also serve to bias the bracket20 to its upper position.

The wheels 38 are provided with bores 57 into which the axles 39 extend.They are further'provided with enlargements 56 whose diametercorresponds to the width of the flattened portions `40 of the axles 39.This makes it possible to make the flattened portions 40 so long thateven if a small axial shifting of the axles 39 or the receptacles 51should occur during assembly or subsequently,

the engagement of the flattened portions 40 in their associated slots inthe receptacles 51 is assured. This is shown in detail in FIG. 4.Furthermore, the wheels 38 are configured symmetrically not only withreference to their axes of rotation but also to their radial `centralplane so that they can be mounted in any desired orientation and at anydesired position with reference to the axles 39. The diameter of thewheels 38 is such that at the lowest possible position of the brushroller 22 they still roll on the surface being treated and that thewheels located at one side of the apparatus at opposite sides of thebrush roller 22 are in motion-transmitting engagement (as shown in FIG.2) with a drive wheel 58 for the brush roller 22.

-In the illustrated embodiment there are further provided two auxiliarybrush rollers 59 as shown in FIG. 2, which can turn freely on thesurface being treated and whose diameter is substantially smaller thanthat of the brush roller 22. The auxiliary brush rollers 59 have axles60 which are turnably mounted in mountings 61 provided on thereceptacles 51. The mountings 61 are each provided with two projections62 and 63 as shown in FIG. 8, with one of these being provided at onemargin (the projection 62) and consisting of two portions one of whichis offset laterally with reference to the other portion, whereas theprojection 63 extends approximately normal to the lgeneral plane of themounting 61 and is of hook-shaped configuration. The receptacles 51 areprovided with openings 64 and 65 into which the respective projections62 and 63 engage. It is advantageous but not necessary that themountings 61 and their projections consist of elastically deformablematerial, such as synthetic plastic, because this facilitates theconnection with the receptacles 51.

Reference numeral 66 (see FIG. 2) identifies slotshaped openings whichextend substantially normal to the surface on which the apparatus movesand which is to be treated, so that the auxiliary brush rollers 59 canmove up and down within a limited range of movement. Exterior holdingportions 67 are provided on the mountings 61 to make it readily possibleto tilt the receptacles 51 about the axles 39 so that their contents maybe easily removed.

It should still be emphasized once again that the illustrated exemplaryembodiment is not to `be considered limiting in any sense. Obviously, avariety of changes and modifications may be effected without in anysense departing from the scope of the present invention. It is thus forinstance possible to utilize a control member 28 which is provided withthread means or analogous means cooperating with suitable means providedon the bracket 20 for effecting the height adjustment in this manner.This would eliminate the member 25 without departing from the scope ofthe invention. A further possibility is to prevent the turning of theaxles 319 by providing the flattened portions 40 at their outer axialends and have them engage the corresponding slots provided in thejournal supports 12 rather than in the receptacles 51 as shown. Again,these two modification possibilities are exemplary only, and others willoffer themselves to those skilled in the art. Also, the configuration ofthe housing 10 itself may of course be different from what has beenillustrated.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a:floor-treating apparatus, it is not intended to be limited to thedetails shown, since various modifications and structural changes may bemade Without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying 'current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

1. A floor-treating apparatus, comprising a housing; wheels supportingsaid housing for movement on a surface; a brush roller adapted toturnably engage said surface; mounting means mounting said brush rollelturnably and with freedom of adjustment between a lower and an upperposition with reference to said surface; biasing means permanentlyurging said brush roller to one of said positions; a control memberreleasably coupled with said housing and having an outer manuallyengageable portion and an inner contact portion cooperating with saidmounting means, said control member being turnable between two terminalsettings, in one of which it moves said brush roller to the other ofsaid positions against the opposition of said biasing means; andabutment means preventing unintentional turning movement of said controlmember beyond said terminal settings, and precluding axial shifting ofsaid control member.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1; further comprising engageable anddisengageable coupling means for coupling said control member to saidhousing.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, said coupling means comprisingcooperating male and female coupling portions some of which are providedon said control member and some of which are provided on said housing.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said male couplingportions are projections, and wherein said female coupling portions arecomplementary recesses, and wherein at least one male coupling portionis different from the remaining male coupling portions and at least onefemale coupling portion is different from the remaining female couplingportions.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said male couplingportions comprise two substantially rectangular and one substantiallytriangular projection, and

wherein said female coupling portions are matingly configurated. l

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said two substantiallyrectangular male coupling portions each have a longitudinal and atransverse dimension, and wherein at least one dimension of one of saidtwo substantially rectangular male coupling portions differs from thecorresponding dimension of the other of said two male coupling portions.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said control member isturnable about a predetermined axis, and wherein said male projectionsand mating female recesses are distributed about said axis at differentangular distances.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, said abutment means comprising anabutment provided on said control member and positioned for preventingunintentional turning movement of said control member beyond saidterminal settings thereof.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, said mounting means comprising amounting structure movable between said upper and lower positions, and alinkage connected with said mounting structure and including a sectionlocated adjacent said inner contact portion of said control member; saidinner contact position being provided with a cam track contacting saidsection and operated for defiecting said linkage and thereby saidmounting structure from said one to the other of said positions inresponse to turning movement of said control member to said one setting.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said abutment isprovided on said cam track and other of said abutments is constituted bya portion of said linkage.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, said cam track having oppositeends each corresponding to one of said settings, and wherein saidabutment on said cam track is located intermedia-te said opposite ends.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, said housing having twoIopposite side walls transversely spaced nad extending in at leastsubstantial parallellism with the direction of movement of said housing;and journal supports each associated with one of said side walls andeach comprising connecting portions connecting it to the respective sidewall.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, said connecting portions beinga plurality of projections of one piece with the respective journalsupport and extending to one side of the general plane of the latter.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 12; further comprising a movablebracket straddling said housing and including a connecting member forconnecting a handle to said bracket, and a pair of arms respectivelyextending along the outside of one of said side walls; securing meanssecuring said arms to said housing for pivotal movement of said bracketabout an axis normal to the direction of movement of said housing andextending through both of said side walls; and connecting means forarresting said lbracket in a plurality of pivoted positions relative tosaid housing.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein some of said connectingportions engage said arresting means and connect the same to said sidewalls.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, said side walls and saidjournal supports comprising registering openings and said securing meansextending through the respective openings and engaging said side wallsand journal supports for securing said arms thereto.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 16, said journal supports having apredetermined thickness, and the openings in said journal supports beingbounded at least in part by journal support portions having a thicknesswhich is greater than said predetermined thickness.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, said journal support portionsbeing marginal portions bounding said openings at least in part andextending transversely to the general plane of the respective opening.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein said openings havestraight lower, and curved upper edges.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 12; further cornprising axle meansmounting said wheels for turning movement; each of said journal supportscomprising a center portion and two springy end portions located atopposite sides of said center portion inclined thereto and connected tosaid center portion at slight spacing by respective extensions; andwherein said end portions are provided with apertures journalling saidaxle means for rotation.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 20, each of said end portionscomprising a plurality of mutually inclined sections.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 21, each of said end portionscomprising a center section provided with one of said apertures, and anupper and lower section inclined relative to said center section, saidlower section having lower edges and being provided with a channelextending from the respective lower edge to the associated aperture.

23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein said channels aredepressions formed in the respective sections.

24. An apparatus as defined in claim 20, said axle means comprisingrod-shaped axles having axle portions located in the respectiveapertures; and cooperating engaging portions provided on said axles andcenter portions for preventing rotation of said axles with reference tosaid journal supports.

25. An apparatus as defined in claim 24, said engaging portionscomprising flattened portions provided on said axles, and slotsextending radially from said apertures and receiving the respectiveflattened portions.

26. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, said mounting means comprising asubstantially U-shaped bracket having an open side facing towards asurface on which said housing moves, a bight portion extending insubstantial parallelism with such surface, and two arm portionsextending at opposite axial ends of said brush roller substantiallynormal to such surface, and wherein said arm portions comprise sectionsengaging and journalling said brush roller for rolling movement.

27. An apparatus as defined in claim 26, said arm portions having lowerportions spaced from and inwardly oriented towards one another, saidlower portions tapering in direction away from said bight portion.

28. An apparatus as defined in claim 26, said housing having twoopposite side walls transversely spaced and extending in at leastsubstantial parallelism with the direction of movement of said housing;and journal supports each connected with one of said side wallsoverlying the inner side thereof.

29. An apparatus as defined in claim 28, said journal supports havingupright slots extending at least substantially normal to the surface onwhich said housing moves, and said arm portions having guide projectionsslidably received in the respective slots and defining by abutment atone end of the latter at least one of said upper and lower positions.

30. An apparatus as defined in claim 29, said guide projectionscomprising deformations of said arm portions in the region of saidsections thereof.

31. An apparatus a's defined in claim 1; and further comprisingreceptacle means for receiving and retaining sweepings which are removedfrom said surface by said brush roller.

32. An apparatus as defined in claim 31, said receptacle meanscomprising at least two receptacles located at opposite sides of andextending along said brush roller.

33. An apparatus as defined in claim 32; and further comprising journalmembers for auxiliary rollers, including mounting projections providedon said journal members and engaged in corresponding recesses providedin 1 1 12 said receptacles for mounting said journal members onReferences Cited the Same N TED STATES PAT N 34. An apparatus as definedin claim 33, wherein each U I E TS of said journal members comprises twoof said mounting 3145f405 8/1964 Hlmes et al- 15-41 R projections one ofwhich is hook-shaped and extends sub- 5 3246'353 4/1966 Farnsworth 15-41R stantially normal to the general plane of the respective FOREIGNPATENTS journal member whereas the other of said two mounting 261,8485/1968 Germany V 15 42 projectlons extends from a marglnal portion ofthe journal member substantiall at right an les to said one 15291715/1968 France 15-41 R Y g 1,114,881 5/1968 `Great Britain 15-41 Rmounting projection and comprises tWo portions one of 10 which islaterally olset with reference to the other. EDWARD L. ROBERTS, PrimaryExaminer

